THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129 67 THE CATAMARAN QUESTION In the global fleet of yachts over 30m, catamarans – sail and power – comprise less than one per cent. And yet they continue to draw fascinated crowds in marinas, at anchor off atolls and at the boat shows. With a handful of big projects currently in build around the world, Don Hoyt Gorman considers the unique features of these multi-hulled marvels.
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THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129 67
THE CATAMARAN QUESTION
In the global fleet of yachts over 30m, catamarans – sail and power – comprise less than one per cent. And yet they continue to draw fascinated crowds in marinas, at anchor off atolls and at the boat shows. With a handful of big projects currently in build around the world, Don Hoyt Gorman considers the unique features of these multi-hulled marvels.
FEATURE | CATAMARANS
68 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129
The arrival in the past two years
of builds like Hemisphere from
Pendennis, CHE and Ipharra from
Sunreef and Cartouche from H2X in
la Ciotat, France, has highlighted
catamaran possibilities for owners
and suggests new opportunities for
brokers to consider when approaching
potential clients.
The Superyacht Report decided to take
a closer look at the features, benefits,
drawbacks and costs of catamarans,
and present a status report on their
place in the world of superyachts.
SPEED & PERFORMANCE
Cruising catamarans are often seen
as the derivatives of ultra-fast racing
vessels, and there’s good reason for
that. They can be incredibly swift,
but for the luxury end of the market,
where comfort is as much – if not
more – an issue as speed, the dual-hull
design affords significant benefits.
“Catamarans generally have 30 per
cent less resistance than an equivalent
monohull vessel,” said Andrew Tuite,
naval architect at catamaran specialists
Incat Crowther. “This translates to
higher speeds with the same power, or
less fuel burn operating at the same
speed.” (See performance graph of
the Curvelle Quaranta, opposite.)
Michael Schutte of Brilliant Boats sees
it the same way. “Cats are typically
much more efficient than an equivalent
volume monohull”, he said. “It’s simple:
long, skinny things take exponentially
less power to drive through water than
short, fat ones. That’s great in terms of
total vessel resistance, which translates
directly into engine power. Less power
means burning less fuel, which means
the fuel you carry onboard takes you
further”.
“One of the main benefits of multi-
hulled craft is the efficiency and
reduced installed motive power
requirement for a given speed
and weight,” Craig Loomes, naval
architect and director of LOMOcean
Design, said. “In many cases, a multi-
hull will require less than 50 per
cent of the power of conventional
monohulled craft especially at
moderate speeds. It’s one of the
reasons that there are so many
multi-hulled craft used as moderate
to high speed passenger ferries: The
reduction in power results in better
fuel economy and more range for a
given volume of fuel.”
Being able to move quickly has its
advantages. “The higher speeds
coupled with today’s actively available
weather routing data provides the
captains with the ability to operate
around weather systems and enhances
the crew’s ability to route through
favourable conditions,” Tuite added.
Draught is a key consideration in
design and, importantly, varies when
comparing motor catamarans and
sailing catamarans. Generally speaking,
a motor catamaran and monohull
will have equivalent draughts. Sailing
catamarans will have a significantly
“One of the main benefits of multi-hulled craft is the efficiency and reduced installed motive power requirement for a given speed and weight.”
CARTOUCHE
THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129 69
lower draught than sailing monohulls
due to their inherent stability and
therefore lack of a requirement for
a deep keel to offset the leverage
of the mast and sails. Some sailing
catamarans – usually those on the
performance end of the design
spectrum – will use daggerboards.
“Draught is key for sailing catamarans,
and the ideal is about 2.5m,” said
Frédéric Jaouen, director of JFA
shipyard in Concarneau, France. “The
VPLP 110 we are building will have a
draught of 2.1m with daggerboard up,
and 4.6m with daggerboard
down. Even 30m monohulls with
lifting keels don’t have such shallow
draughts. It enables some mooring
opportunities that boats this size
usually can’t get to.”
Along with the advantages of speed,
shallower draught for sailing catamarans
and fuel efficiency, the catamarans’
main deck between the pontoon
hulls is a luxurious area to build on.
“In superyacht catamarans, the guest
staterooms can be situated on the main
deck, resulting in easier access and
allowance for much larger windows,”
MLC IMPACT ON CATAMARANSOnce in force, the Maritime Labour
Convention (MLC) – even with
the new draught equivalences
proposed by the UK Maritime and
Coastguard Agency (MCA) – will
impact on catamaran design in as yet
unforeseen ways.
With smaller crew numbers than
equivalent weight monohull
vessels, and restricted pontoon
accommodation space, catamaran
designs may face interesting
challenges as a result of the MLC.
“The MCA has reduced the impact
of the full MLC requirements in
their draught equivalence,” said
Alex M Hardy of naval architects
BMT Nigel Gee. “We’re not dealing
with quite the scale of the problem
as we were now that en suite floor
space is included in the cabin area
calculations, but one impact it will
probably have on catamarans is that
crew numbers might get smaller.”
LY2 has minimum crewing
requirements based on gross
tonnage, range and area of
operation. If future owners consider
reducing crew by one or two
personnel (the largest catamarans
have crews between six and eight
people), a balance will need to
be struck between minimum
requirements and maximum guest
area.
“We haven’t looked at it closely yet,
but what I’ve seen hasn’t concerned
me,” said Van Peteghem. “Very
often in the designs, we manage to
dedicate space in two-thirds of one
hull for crew quarters and galley, and
while the spaces are smaller than
the guest suites, they have the same
quality of living: they’re at the same
level, with the same deck height
and light. I don’t think MLC will
affect our ability to deliver luxury
catamarans.”
For previous comparisons between
catamarans and monohulls, see Alex
M Hardy and James Roy’s article in
issue 114 of The Yacht Report, p102.
“Some people find the swift motion of a catamaran hard to get used to. Others prefer it to the long, slow motion typically associated with monohulled craft and seasickness.”
LEFT: HEMISPHERE IN BUILD AT PENDENNIS
IN FALMOUTH, ENGLAND
BELOW: PERFORMANCE GRAPH OF
THE CURVELLE QUARANTA
OPENING PAGE: CHE, BUILT BY SUNREEF
YACHTS IN GDANSK, POLAND
FEATURE | CATAMARANS
70 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129
Luuk V van Zanten of YachtMarketing
– the company behind the Curvelle
concept – pointed out. “General shapes
and openness of the main deck and
square spaces allow the optimisation
of interior installation during build.
Guest stateroom footprints are more like
hotel rooms, resulting in better overall
shipbuilding value: better quality ships
for equivalent costs.”
STABILITY
Perhaps the most obvious, and
yet underappreciated feature of
catamarans is stability. Serious
sailors always deride the catamaran
its lack of elegant heel (five-degree
heeling angle on a cruising cat is a
maximum), but that lack of heel is
probably a highly desirable feature
for the less salty family members and
guests aboard.
Owners, guests and crew can sail and
live on a nearly horizontal platform.
They’re not completely motionless,
of course. “Catamarans roll less
than monohulls, but the motion
of a catamaran is much faster and
more difficult to predict,” Loomes
said. “Some people find the swift
motion of a catamaran hard to get
used to. Others prefer it to the long,
slow motion typically associated with
monohulled craft and seasickness.”
COSTS AND VALUE
One key point to consider is that
catamarans are always going to cost
more to build for a given length: they
need two hulls instead of one, but
an easy way to compare catamarans
with monohulls is to consider weight.
“From our experience, the cost of
a boat is very closely related to the
weight, regardless of geometry, as long
as construction medium, speed, level
of fit-out and systems are to the same
standard,” Loomes added.
The guesstimate calculation of €1
million per metre doesn’t work
with catamarans because of their
dimensions. “A catamaran and a
monohull may be 50m in length, but
one will be nine metres wide and the
other twice that; so which should cost
more?” Loomes asked, rhetorically.
“When people do this it is like
comparing the cost of a building using
the length of one side of the building.
A single-level house, a three-level house
and a high rise office block may all have
the same length on one side; does that
mean they will cost the same?”
“Generally, the construction costs of
superyachts today are primarily based
on volume or gross tonnage rather
than length,” van Zanten said. “The
general public still uses a cost per LOA
since this appears to be a lot easier, but
it is erroneous: an equivalent length
catamaran (compared to a monohull
of same performance) will be more
expensive to build because it will have
more than 35 per cent deck area (and
internal volume).”
QUARANTA BY CURVELLE, IN BUILD AT LOGOS MARINE IN TUZLA, TURKEY
>>
“As catamarans increase in size, it is actually easier to create a vessel that is more aesthetically pleasing as relative freeboard heights and wind deck clearances become less of an issue.”
“Guest stateroom footprints are more like hotel rooms, resulting in better overall shipbuilding value: better quality ships for equivalent costs.”
THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129 71
THE KNOWLEDGE
ANDREW TUITE
INCAT CROWTHER’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR AND NAVAL ARCHITECT. INCAT CROWTHER HAS DEVELOPED FOUR – OR HALF – OF THE
LUXURY CATAMARANS CURRENTLY IN THE GLOBAL ORDER BOOK.
IAN COOK
CEO OF YACHTING DEVELOPMENTS, WHICH HAS THE 30.5M Q5 SAIL
CATAMARAN IN-BUILD, & PRESIDENT OF THE MARINE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
OF NEW ZEALAND.
FRANCIS LAPP
FOUNDER & CEO OF SUNREEF GROUP, WHICH INCLUDES SUNREEF YACHTS, BUILDER OF LUXURY CATAMARANS BOTH POWER & SAIL, INCLUDING
IPHARRA & CHE.
CRAIG LOOMES
DESIGN DIRECTOR AT LOMOCEAN DESIGN LTD, NEW ZEALAND,
SPECIALISTS IN POWER CATAMARANS & MULTIHULLS, INCLUDING THE SOLAR-POWERED TÛRANOR PLANETSOLAR.
MARC VAN PETEGHEM
NAVAL ARCHITECT & CO-FOUNDER OF VAN PETEGHEM LAURIOT PRÉVOST (VPLP). VPLP’S CATAMARANS INCLUDE THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD: DOUCE
FRANCE & HEMISPHERE.
MICHAEL SCHUTTE
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL NAVAL ARCHITECT OF BRILLIANT BOATS, A FULL SERVICE
“Large-volume composite cruising superyacht catamarans with good performance – both power and sail – are perceived as appealing to a wider potential client base, more so than niche high-performance ultra fast catamarans.”
FEATURE | CATAMARANS
76 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129
THE NEXT GENERATION: CATAMARANS IN BUILD
CURVELLE QUARANTA
Builder: Logos Marine
Country: Turkey
Naval architect: Incat Crowther
Delivery (est.): 2013
Type: Motoryacht
Hull: Composite
Superstructure: Composite
LOA: 33.7m
Beam: 9m
Max draught: 1.95m
Gross tonnage: 295gt
Cruise speed: 23kn
Max speed: 25kn
Q5
Builder: Yachting Developments
Country: New Zealand
Naval architect: Yachting Developments
Delivery (est.): 2012
Type: Sailing yacht
Hull: Composite
Superstructure: Composite
LOA: 30.49m
Beam: 14.64m
Max draught: 2.1m
Gross tonnage: 284gt
VPLP 110
Builder: JFA Chantier Naval
Country: France
Naval architect: Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP)
Delivery (est.): September 2012
Type: Sailing yacht
Hull: Carbon composite
Superstructure: Carbon composite
LOA: 33.5m
Beam: 14.05m
Max draught: 4.6m
Gross tonnage: 234gt
33M CATAMARAN MOTORYACHT
Builder: Silkline International
Country: Thailand
Naval architect: Incat Crowther
Delivery (est.): 2011
Type: Motoryacht
Hull: Composite
Superstructure: Composite
LOA: 37.3m
Beam: 8.2m
Max draught: 1.9m
ZENITH
Builder: Sabre Catamarans Pty Ltd
Country: Australia
Naval architect: Incat Crowther
Delivery (est.): 2011
Type: Motoryacht
Hull: Aluminium
Superstructure: Aluminium
LOA: 37.45m
Beam: 10.3m
Max draught: 1.5m
Cruise speed: 25kn
RFF135
Builder: Royal Falcon Fleet
Country: Singapore
Naval architect: Kockums/Incat Crowther
Delivery (est.): 2011
Type: Motoryacht
Hull: Aluminium
Superstructure: Aluminium
LOA: 41.14m
Beam: 12.5m
Max draught: 1.7m
THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129 79
physics, advancements in construction
materials and how much someone will
pay to have the largest sailing cat in
the world.”
Because of their beam, finding
available refit facilities can sometimes
be a particular challenge for
superyacht catamaran captains. “For
maintenance and service works,
there are limited places to haul out,”
said Lieven Maertens, captain of the
Sunreef-built Ipharra. “But if builders
encounter sufficient demand for
larger catamarans, nothing would
stop them from investing in suitable
sheds”.
CARBON
With at least one all-carbon catamaran
in build at the moment (the VPLP
110’ project at JFA in Concarneau,
France), the twin-hull form is poised to
lead the way in full-carbon superyacht
construction. “Carbon composite is a
very good material for catamarans,”
Loomes said. “It has a very high
strength-to-weight ratio, very good
fatigue properties and has none of
the maintenance/life issues associated
with metals (for example fatigue
cracking, corrosion and electrolysis).
They’re the same reasons that carbon
composite is now coming to the fore in
aircraft construction.”
The team at Curvelle cites carbon
composite’s strength to weight
characteristics and its acoustic
and thermal characteristics when
combined with a foam core for sound
and thermal insulation.
SP-High Modulus, which has provided
the engineering on the Quaranta
project, also regards carbon as a
material for catamaran construction
in some areas of the structure. “The
advantage of using carbon in the
deck specifically is three-fold due to
the increased importance of stiffness
versus strength,” said Alex Shimell,
marine consultancy director at SP-
High Modulus. “Firstly, the carbon
content in the deck sole makes the
feel under foot much stiffer than the
equivalent weight in e-glass, giving a
higher quality end product, with no
increase in weight. Secondly, carbon
deck beams can be shallower than
their e-glass counterparts, giving more
headroom. And thirdly, the weight
savings in the upper decks reduces
the amount of structure required,
allowing a much more open-plan, airy
interior.”
Thin carbon structures transmit noise
easily, which means it needs insulation
to achieve a quiet, comfortable yacht
interior. “Carbon is lighter, but it’s
also really noisy,” agreed Marc Van
Peteghem of Van Peteghem Lauriot
Prévost Yacht Design (VPLP), which
developed the 44m Hemisphere and the
42m Douce France, both of which are all
aluminium. “If you accept the noise
because sailing is important to you,
then it’s great. But if you go carbon to
save weight, then expect 45db noise
levels in the owner’s stateroom; you’ll
need quite a lot of insulation. So you’ll
pay twice: once for the carbon, once
for the insulation, and at the end of
the day, the weight isn’t so much of an
advantage.”
“When carbon is used in combination
with foam cores and e-glass
reinforcements, and only used
selectively in certain areas that are
stiffness-critical – such as decks
or beams – there is very little cost
difference compared to an all e-glass
structure and also very little effect
on the noise transmission within the
structure as a whole,” Shimell said.
QUARANTA: EXTERIOR, TOP DECK & SALON
Catamarans, as a form of yacht, are arguably more versatile a design than monohulls. They can be faster and lighter, or roomier and more open.
“The price is trending down, and this should continue now that more carbon fibre is being used for aircraft and other industrial uses.”
>>
FEATURE | CATAMARANS
80 THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 129
With the right materials and
equipment, carbon is easily and
quickly reparable, but it remains a
material requiring specialist, high-
tech skills to work with. “The only
trouble with carbon, other than
the loudness, is that if you ding it
somewhere remote where there’s no
local carbon surgeons, you could be
in for a wait,” Schutte said. “It’s not
like every port has the technology and
expertise to do these repairs yet. So,
to me, carbon needs to be considered
by adding up the raw material cost,
the skill required of the builder,
the reparability, the availability of
materials, and possibility to modify
the boat after it’s launched.”
Carbon’s biggest disadvantage is
its shipbuilding cost. “The price
is trending down, and this should
continue now that more carbon fibre
is being used for aircraft and other
industrial uses,” Loomes said. “On the
environmental front, carbon fibre is
probably as bad as aluminium, as both
materials require a significant amount
of electrical energy to manufacture.
But carbon fibre doesn’t come with
the impact of mining, as does bauxite,
the source of aluminium.”
“If I were building myself a cat under
30m, I would probably suck it up and
go all carbon,” Schutte said, “but I
would not be sound insulating and
I’d just live with the noise in
exchange for the performance. If I
were building a 30m for a client, who
had any expectation of luxury or
sanity into the future, then I would
probably advise him to plump for
the alloy. Safer, cheaper and more
practical – so, smarter in the real
world.” [Carbon is discussed from another
angle in the Sarissa report on page 64 –
Ed].
“I’d say that, thanks to the America’s Cup, the popularity and demand for catamarans around the world is expected to accelerate.”